Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a service which provides, via a network, a server as an information processing device placed at a data center (or provides a virtual machine to be executed on a server as an information processing device). Platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) provide an application interface (API) and a software environment. In contrast, IaaS is differentiated from other cloud services as a mode providing a server (virtual machine) itself as a hardware resource.
Furthermore, according to the mode of provision, IaaS may be classified into IaaS which provides a virtual machine (virtual IaaS) and IaaS which provides a physical server (physical IaaS).
In the virtual IaaS, with the use of a software function, it is easy to increase and decrease the number of virtual machines and change the structure of the virtual machine itself (such as the number of central processing units (CPUs) and memory capacity). A user of the virtual IaaS is allowed to use a desired server resource for a desired time via a terminal device, and is billed according to use results.
By contrast, the physical IaaS is an extension of a server hosting service in the past. It is often the case that a system of the physical IaaS is constructed by placing a physical server configured as specified by the user at a data center and the system is used by the user from outside the data center. The performance of the physical IaaS is higher than that of the virtual IaaS because the physical server is occupied by the user. However, unlike the virtual IaaS, it is not possible to share physical server resources as hardware resources among a plurality of users and use as many physical server resources as the users desire for a desired time.
Meanwhile, in recent years, a server has a management processor called a service processor (also referred to as a base management controller (BMC)) mounted on a motherboard of the server. The service processor is an independent system different from an operating system (OS) to be executed by a CPU of the server, and manages the server itself. The service processor normally has a network interface different from a network interface of a server body. The service processor is connected to a network (hereinafter referred to as a management network) different from a network to be used by a system on the server (hereinafter referred to as a business network).
The service processor provides functions such as obtaining a server state, controlling power supply, and serving as a remote console, and is managed by another management server on the management network in a centralized manner.
In the physical IaaS, the user constructs a system on the physical server, and uses that system or provides that system to a third party. The user also operates the power supply of the server in use, and manages the server via the remote console. Thus, an access from a network outside the data center to the service processor is permitted.
In the physical IaaS system where the system configuration is fixed, the server to be accessed by the user from outside the data center and the physical server (and the service processor) actually placed in the data center uniquely correspond to each other. A service processor login ID for the user to use the service processor, authority to use functions for each service processor login ID, and so forth are set individually for the service processor.
Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2010-526358, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-103931, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-58898, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-128994 are examples of related art.